Small businesses face unique challenges in the marketing arena. Whether you are trying to gain more of an online following, retain existing customers, or gain a new audience, follow our top tips for small business marketing!
1. Email Marketing
Sending out a newsletter to everyone on your email list is a great way to keep people informed about your current offerings and upcoming projects or events. This method is not only cheap, but can be personalized to individuals based on what you think they would like to hear from you. Segmenting your audience can make them more likely to open and read your email.
According to Hubspot, 77% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months. Email marketing and newsletters are much more likely to be seen by your audience- if an announcement is being pushed to a customers inbox, it is harder for them to miss than a social media post. You should also add links to your email newsletters that will increase your website traffic or social media following. The perfect email should have an engaging subject line, include images, and a call to action for your audience!
2. Google My Business
When somebody wants to know more about a business, their first step is to Google it! As a small business owner, you need to make sure that a potential customer can access all the information they are looking for from a simple Google search. Google’s “My Business” accounts give you ownership of your online business profile, allowing you to manage the information listed and engage with online reviews and questions. This is essential to running a small business, as you can make sure that your hours, location information, website link, and business description are all accurate and up to date. My Business accounts will also provide you with insights, showing how many people are searching and looking at your business profile over time. When you look at these insights you can find out how many people end up going to your site through Google, or if they found you via Google Maps or a Google search. This information can help you adjust your strategy over time as you figure out which actions help drive traffic and which do not.
3. Blog Content
Having a blog section on your business website will help showcase your expertise and increase your search ranking. There are plenty of topics to write blogs about, regardless of your industry. Explanations of your products or services, tips for success for your customers, or a breakdown of industry news can all make for great blog content on your website. In this way, people searching the internet for specific content may be driven to your site without having heard of your business before.
Another benefit of blog content is its ability to be repurposed. Many businesses struggle with what to post on their social media or include in their newsletters- blog content makes for easily reused content that you can share on other platforms, giving you and your audience more to talk about.
4. Improving social content
You are probably already aware of the importance of social media for businesses in 2022, but using the platforms properly can be a lot to handle. One of the most effective ways to use social media is with eye-catching visuals. If you are not a graphic designer, you will probably need some help with this! Luckily, Canva offers free templates for social media posts, videos, and so much more. We recommend that you use Canva templates to make client testimonial posts, Instagram stories, and even videos (which can garner a lot more attention than static images!). On Instagram, reels are shown in an endless feed, boosting your video’s chances of being discovered by interested parties. Canva now offers a free video editing tool, complete with customizable templates for animated Instagram reels! If you feel overwhelmed by Canva, or you aren’t getting the results you are looking for, check out our course, which will give you step-by-step instructions for making eye-catching graphics for your website and social media. If you’re low on time, we highly recommend outsourcing social media management, and we’re happy to help!
4. Outsourcing
Though each of these aspects of small business marketing may sound manageable, they can be difficult to coordinate all together. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the many different aspects of growing your brand, consider hiring marketing experts that understand the needs of a small business. Hiring a professional can save you lots of time, as they know how to fill in gaps in your marketing plan and identify your target audience. With the right tools and planning, engaging and maintaining your customer base is completely achievable. Schedule a consultation with us today to get started!
